Resignation of the CEOs, national directors and senior executives of Pastef: "Don't resign, it would be a mistake: Here's why", (By Aly Khoudia Diaw)

Yes. We all understand the commitment that some directors general, national directors, and senior civil servants demonstrate to President Ousmane Sonko. Others do the same for the President of the Republic. This show of loyalty is self-evident. But I believe that resignations are not warranted. And I will cite political and administrative reasons, after briefly outlining some general observations. Directors general, national directors, and Pastef officials in strategic positions, you must not resign. Because the party chose you based on your competence and the trust placed in you by the President of the Republic and his then Prime Minister, President Ousmane Sonko. Now, the President of the Republic can, according to his constitutional prerogatives, dismiss you. But in any case, it is the party that loses. Because we must not go to war against the President of the Republic. He is a member of Pastef, and it was the party that chose him. It was the party that brought him to power. It's the project he's implementing. And he's supported by all Senegalese who have demonstrated patriotic commitment and proven competence, most of whom are party members. But even more importantly, we didn't elect President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, we didn't elect President Ousmane Sonko. At Pastef, we elected a duo. Two friends who complement each other. We're the ones who said, "Sonko is Diomaye, Diomaye is Sonko." Let's not be carried away by our emotions. The record, by 2029, will be Pastef's record, good or bad. It won't be Diomaye's record or Sonko's. It will be Pastef's record. The record of the Duo. So let's think and act rationally. We have accomplished many very good things. Let's continue, let's continue, so that on the evening of 2029, we can say "this is what we have accomplished".

On the other hand, for the Senegalese administration, this will be an extraordinary setback, a catastrophe, because everything that has been accomplished will be wiped out and started over. It depends on the President of the Republic. Either he continues the project, or he breaks with it. In that case, a new Prime Minister, new ministers, a new vision, a new team, new strategies. It's clear. Everything will have to be started over: the vision, which will be developed, and the strategic orientations (sectoral policy letter or development policy letter), themselves detailed in planning documents (plans, timeframes, timelines, budgets, etc.). In short, all of this will have to be reworked at the administrative level, which, I remind you, is severely underfunded due to the scarcity of resources. And everything will have to be rebuilt from scratch. We will have another two or three years to work on the progress we had already made, with the gradual risk of a decline in the quality of administrative documents produced. And with these appointed people who think they're going to reinvent the administration and arrive like messiahs. But in the Senegalese administration, we don't like messiahs. Because the messiahs are us, the rank-and-file employees. So, breaking away and abandoning our posts is not advisable. The new authorities will come with new people; some will be fired, others let go to make room for others, and a lot of excellent work will be thrown away because everyone will want to propose and impose their own visions. In short, everything will have to be started over. We must stay and continue the work. Unless, perhaps, the president himself decides to get rid of us.